Post by Zou ۞ on Sept 11, 2010 17:41:53 GMT -5
The Gotei 13 (護廷十三隊, Goteijūsantai; 13 Division Imperial Guards, 13 Court Guard Squads in the English dub, 13 Court Guard Companies in the English manga) is the primary military branch of Soul Society and the main military organization most Shinigami join after leaving the academy.
The Gotei 13 serves as a military force with its primary responsibilities consisting of:
The defense of the Seireitei, the center of Soul Society.
The deployment of Division members into enemy territory for combat operations.
The deployment of Task Forces as defensive measures in the Human World.
The guiding of souls to Soul Society.
General Operation
The Gotei 13 does not normally operate as a cohesive unit. The command of the divisions are generally left to the discretion of its particular Captain, who commonly runs it whatever way he or she sees fit, allowing for the change of a division's traditional duties to an entirely new set and even the creation of a separate institution connected to the division. The Gotei 13's main duty is to defend the Seireitei, but they are allocated districts in Rukongai to defend. In addition to these duties, Shinigami have to deal with the business of being assigned to the Human World.
The only general authority to call forth a combined front is an edict from the Central 46 Chambers, or more often the Captain-Commander. It is not uncommon for captains to not see each other as a whole group for long periods of time, except for cases involving a threat to all of Soul Society, a captain's punishment, or, to a lesser degree, a captain's promotion. On a regular basis, the captains are spread out all across Soul Society doing their divisions' duties, whatever they may be. They are so far spread out, getting the captains together as a group, or even getting their lieutenants together as a group, could normally take as much as two days to accomplish.
Below, you will find descriptions of the 13 squads and their duties, followed by descriptions of the two other organizations joined by academy graduates: the Kido Corps and the Onmitsukido.
Founded by Kinwashi Ginkurohyou, Squad 1 is the strategic and command squad. The only authority superior to Squad 1's orders is the Central 46. The Captain of this division, called the Captain Commander, is the central and highest authority of the entire organization. Thus, this division's typical duties involve assignments for which Soul Reapers are sent to which parts of the human world, assignments for various squads and Captains, and the primary strategy of the entire Thirteen Court Guard Squads during periods of war. The codes for activating the weapon known as the Soul Cannon are housed here. This is also the only squad with the authority to use the Sokkyokku.
It holds such tremendous authority that even its Lieutenant, depending on circumstances, sometimes has the capacity to issue orders to a Captain. The typical Squad 1 Lieutenant would in fact be about as powerful as a lower tier Captain.
The current Captain Commander is the 35th to ever hold the title, a man named Kyousou Ningen. He is nicknamed "The Strong Man." He is considered to be the strongest Soul Reaper alive, and the sixth strongest ever to live as well as the third strongest to ever take the role of Captain Commander.
Founded by Donoken Pipiri, Squad 2 is the division for special operations and infantry. It carries out covert, time sensitive rescue missions, stealthy infiltration and information gathering missions, and sometimes assassinations. Its authority to carry out missions is dictated by its Captain, though it only ever receives orders to assassinate from the Captain Commander himself, and exclusively for missions relative to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and the safety, security, and justice of Soul Society. It was once tied to Onmitsukido, but is now an entirely independent group. For several generations now, the Captain of Squad 2 has been associated with also being the Head of the Shihoin Family, but this is in fact not recently the case.
Along with Squads 6 and 10, this division has partial authority for defending against wartime invasions.
The current Captain of Squad 2 is Kimiko Shihoin, the head of the Shihoin Family with a Zanpakutō themed around wolves.
Founded by Shioki Mikoto, Squad 3 is formerly the Destruction Squad. It was once in charge of high level demolitions, particularly when the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were first attempting to clear land to build both Seireitei and Rukongai. Nowadays, it is the Expedition squad. Its goal is to be the first to go out and examine new situations and danger. A majority of first responders to new Hollow reports in the human world come from this division. The members of this division, because they are those that are sent in first, tend to be the best survivalists when it comes to harsh conditions or unpleasantly long missions. They are, however, also considered the most expendable. This division thus possesses the highest level recruiting efforts and contains the most nonseated members.
In our forum's history, this one has become known as "The Cursed Squad." Three recent Captains have been lost to very unfortunate circumstances. The first, Sekaitsu Raito, was forced to flee Soul Society because of Hollowfication. The second, Hara Lucious, was executed as a result of showing signs of Hollowfication. The most recent one to leave because of such circumstances was Ketsueki Nami, who was a cannibalistic criminal guilty of killing fellow Shinigami, and thus was also executed. One recent Captain, Ryuu Usagi, is now a member of the Central 46.
The current Captain is Tsuyoshi Minamoto, a brutish warrior that relies on high level stat ability rather than a Zanpakuto.
Founded by Kusuri Onna, Squad 4 is the healer's division. Many Soul Reapers who were incompetent as combatants came to this squad to become useful. As such, despite being likely the most integral squad of them all, it has the worst reputation and is looked down on the most. Its members are often bullied by Soul Reapers from Squads 3 and 11. However, in recent years, the Captain Commander has ordered that members of Squad 4 be trained in self defense and in more aggressive offensive strategies in hopes that they would become better able to guard themselves in a battlefield. His desire was that rather than having them act solely as an ER, they can also be field medics and rescuers, as well as evacuation personnel.
Squad 4 does not currently possess an active Captain.
Founded by Shiroi Kochou, this was once the infiltration division before Squad 2 took on that duty. This squad is now in fact responsible for the development and implementation of new Kido and spell-based technologies. It is also a secondary back-up which is sent first to assist Squad 3 members in the field. State of the art Kido spells and experiments are performed here, and thus this division receives the highest proportion of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad budget out of any division.
This squad is known to have produced many famous Captains, including the late Vizard Leader and revolutionary, Zouma Santeku, who was one of the most important NPC plot figures. Also noteworthy, Azeru Cho (AU version of Aizen). The current Captain is Wycliff Mason, a Shinigami with a powerful control over the cold.
Squad 6 has undergone a reinvigoration. Leaving the Internal Affairs to Squad 7, the 30th Captain of the Squad, Kyomei Kuchiki, requested and was granted permission to change the duties of the squad. Now, the Sixth Squad is in charge of Restoration and Repair. They are the teams that go out and maintain the Seireitei, the Rukongai, and even the Land of the Living. It is this Squad in charge of going in and performing the mind wipes of common humans and repairing buildings after the fact once the Hollow or whatnot that caused the damage is neutralized. This Squad also contain the majority of the Smiths of the Seireitei, responsible for crafting basic equipment for the rest of the Gotei 13. This is not stepping on the toes of the Research division of Squad 12 as they aren't responsible for the development of technology and the like, just responsible for the base crafting that the rest of the Squads may have need of.
The current Captain of this Squad is Kyomei Kuchiki, 30th Kuchiki Head and 30th to hold this Captaincy. This squad also produced current Squad 12 Captain, Aramis Tezuka.
Founded by Irie Makimaki, Squad 7 was once a research squad devoted to any number of curiosity projects. From science to art to history to magic, it had knowledge about them all. To this day it maintains many libraries and texts which serve it, relics of times past. What this division is most famous for, however, is not its founder, but its second Captain, Roshu Kensai. Roshu Kensai would later go on to become Satsujun, the second Captain Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. He lives to this day as a criminal and outcast exiled to the human world, a Fullbringer that leads an organization called Xcution.
Nowadays, Squad 7 has a different role. These are the Soul Society's policing force. Call them the cops, the FBI, whatever. They send the lowest number of members to the human world to engage with Hollows and they have the least to do with wars. Squad 7 is about internal problems. Rukongai is filled with corruption and criminals. Sometimes there is even corruption within the Thirteen Court Guard squads themselves. To this end, Squad 7 exists as an executive authority dedicated to hunting these things down. Many Captains have been executed or imprisoned as a result of their corruptions being found by Squad 7.
For a time in recent memory, this was considered the most powerful Squad. It was the only division possessing so many users of Bankai. Third seat Kaen Youji (now the Lieutenant) was a Bankai user, as was then Lieutenant Rin Minamimoto. Furthermore, it had all of its seated positions filled. Its Captain of the time, Enma, had a power which allowed him to forcefully activate the Bankai of all of his Squad 7 allies and take on the drawbacks of such a thing in their stead. At this time, Enma was the strongest Captain.
Squad 7 does not currently possess an active Captain. Kaen Youji, however, serves as the Squad's Vice Captain with an exceptionally powerful fire-based release.
Founded by Ousama Zansatsu, this was originally the Senkaimon operation squad. Nowadays, it is the funding squad. It is Squad 8's job to both secure funds for the entire Thirteen Court Guard Squads and then allocate them. Thus, it is directly in charge of budgeting. Because of the political nature of acquiring funds, Squad 8 often has to work hand in hand with Squad 6. Though it receives regular income due to taxes levied by the Central 46, the funds are often insufficient for the operations of such a massive military group. This is why Squad 8 must work overtime to produce more funds. After years of practice, however, these guys are so good at their job that Seireitei's funds seem utterly limitless.
This division's original Captain, Ousama Zansatsu, went on to become a traitor to Soul Society and is the founder of the Quincy race. He would live to the present day and become the Emperor of the Quincy organization called the Vandenreich. A monster that could use both a Zanpakuto and a Bow Release. However, he met his death at the hands of the 35th Captain Commander. It is knowledge to a select few that his goal was to create a threat that would push the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to evolve and become more powerful in preparation for greater threats.
The current Captain is a well-known Shinigami by the name of Senshi Odayakama, whose Zanpakuto relies on an overwhelming amount of controllable blades.
Founded by Ko Tatsujin, this division was once the primary Hollow slaying squad and served mostly what Squad 3's present day role is. Nowadays it is a squad devoted to dissection of complex information which might then be sent to Squad 6. It deals in the use of Hell butterflies for communication and also in decoding ciphers and other things. Oftentimes it is attempting to hack communications from other factions.
This squad is now run by Connor Greaves, a Shinigami with a poison-focused ability.
Founded by Ibuki Nishoko, Squad 10 was once about Zanpakuto evolution and ways to expand and further develop the primary Soul Reaper weapon, the Zanpakuto. Nowadays, this is the squad with the second best direct combat abilities for average situations. They're the ones in charge of protecting Seireitei itself from enemy invasions. It's almost impossible to get through the battle hardened members of squad 10, since they're the ones that defend Seireitei all the time. Hollows can never infiltrate it ordinarily because of this.
This is probably one of the most famous Squads. Former Captain Okusa Shogen, once the strongest Captain prior to the arrival of Enma, led this squad to a glory time equal to that of Squad 7. It wielded a Lieutenant named Hiro Kaname who had Bankai and a third seat named Irudai Izumi who also had Bankai. This division was famous for power, combat lovers, and partying.
Nowadays it is a much more calm and disciplined squad, albeit a weaker one compared to the glory days. The Squad's current Captain, Celes Shindazu, a Shinigami with the ability to project her spirit outward in the name of defense.
Founded by Kenpachi Guren, Squad 11 has always been the main combat squad. The majority of Captains of this Squad have held the legendary title of "Kenpachi." It is known that this division sends the best reinforcements to the human world. If reinforcements are to come and save the day against Hollows, often they come from this squad. This is the main attack squad. This means that not only will this be the squad with the best reinforcements for facing Hollows, but it is the one with the heaviest reinforcements and duties for going to war with other factions. Squad 11 thus has the highest number of total members in spite of Squad 3's recruiting efforts. Unlike other squads which have 20 seated positions (IC), Squad 11 has over a hundred.
The current Captain of this Squad is Kimiko Nakajima, a Shinigami with control over both light and dark.
Founded by Akuma Joshai, Squad 12 was once an enforcement squad. A predecessor of Squad 7's modern day duties. Its goal was to enforce the law within Soul Society. Today, however, Squad 12 is about technology, research, and science. Squad 12 is also very difficult to score into, requiring members that are exceptionally knowledgeable about human world science, the science of the spiritual worlds, and technology in general. Most who want to apply here generally need to submit some sort of scientific thesis which is then graded by a board within the division itself. Acceptable thesis papers lead to members joining the squad. The people here spend their days cooped up in a lab with all sorts of new experimental poisons, dissections, chemicals, creatures, and a whole host of other projects. They're actually the most knowledgeable and scientifically smartest people in all of Soul Society.
They are known to be low level combatants most of the time, but the technologies that they produce more than make up for it.
In the modern era, this division started developing more and more unorthodox and sometimes illegal experiments under former Captain, Bokuga Sayuri. The current Captain is Aramis Tezuka, a man who is shrouded in mystery and hides his powers from the world. It is said no one has ever seen him use Bankai.
Founded by Asa Luryuuak, Squad 13 once served the most sinister purpose of them all: Genocide. Formerly a division dedicated solely to the genocide of undesirables and undesirable races, this division once served a purpose that is now thought of to be archaic and absolutely barbaric. Despite the fact that today the Thirteen Court Guard Squads still enforce certain genocidal policies (against Quincy, Bount, and Mod Souls for instance), this division also produced genocide in Rukongai for "inferior" pluses.
It was not until the eighth Captain Commander that this practice was eliminated. Today, this division is about travels and overseeing operation of the Senkaimon gate that Soul Reapers use to travel to and from the human world. These guys are also occasionally sent into hot spots to get fellow Soul Reapers out of there or when someone else needs to be sent in.
When the Kawada family nobility first took a Captaincy seat, this was the division that they took over. It has since then been semi frequently used as the traditional Kawada squad, though in recent years this has not been the case as a result of a major decline in that family's power.
As a result of an attack from a mysterious assailant named "Douma" which reportedly led to the death of Captain Kagami Murai, this division no longer has a Captain. In fact, at the time, it lost a huge majority of its members. After some time, it has regenerated its numbers by pulling from the academy, but many of them are now novices and newbies. There is great speculation that because of the savagery of the attack against Squad 13, Douma is actually a former Soul Reaper of this division.
Squad 13 currently possesses no active Captain.
These people are not developers of Kido, but rather are specialists in its use. Furthermore, while those in the Kido Corps are Soul Reapers, they are not technically members of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and thus their division in fact does not answer to the Captain Commander. This is in fact its own entirely separate militia organization. They were founded by the Central 46, and are thus under the control of the Central 46. Their primary purpose is to assist the Thirteen Court Guard Squads when they can, but also to protect the Central 46 and enforce its laws and will.
In particular, it is around to keep the Thirteen Court Guard Squads in check. Because it is under command of Central 46, this organization is often at odds with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads because of conflicting roles and orders from the Captain Commander versus the Central 46. Should the Central 46 feel it necessary, the Kido Corps is around to actually invade and take conquest over the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. As a result, the Kido Corps does not technically operate within the Seireitei, even though Central 46 HQ is located in Seireitei. The Kido Corps actually has its own outpost in Rukongai for operations. Its Captain, despite leading the group, wields significantly less power over the Kido Corps as opposed to the Captain Commander for the Seireitei. The Kido Corps receives nearly all of its direct orders from the Central 46.
In fact, the Captain of this division is almost never invited to Captain meetings of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. If the Captain does attend, it is because Central 46 ordered them to do so. The current Captain is Kyomei Kuchiki, a powerful Captain whose reiatsu is so mighty that it suppressed his ability to achieve a Zanpakuto. He is particularly adept at a skill called "Kido Fusion" which is exceptionally rare.
Unlike most Captains of the Kido Corps, Kyomei actually fosters a significantly better relationship with the Seireitei and its Captains, and works closely with many of them. This can be partially attributed to his familial relationship with Squad 6's Captain requiring him to be in close proximity of Seireitei rather regularly. As a result of his ability to make ties, his power, and his agreeableness, he is thought to be in the process of grooming to actually leave the Kido Corps and assume the role of Captain Commander when the Strong Man retires or dies.
The Onmitsukido was founded by the Shihoin Family as an assassin organization loyal exclusively to them. It was the Onmitsukido's role of being hired by nobles in secret to play games of espionage and calculation that led to the Shihoin becoming as influential as they are. Despite this, the Onmitsukido was eventually discovered and placed under jurisdiction of the Central 46. Though supervised by the noble Shihoin family, and allowed some degree of autonomy compared to the Kido Corps, Onmitsukido does still answer primarily to Central 46. Like the Kido Corps, it is a separate organization that only works with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Its Captain is rarely invited to Captain meetings, though sometimes is encouraged to silently sit in on them by Central 46. Ultimately, though this is an espionage division that takes on more complex and illegal assassination missions compared to Squad 2, and is meant to assist other Soul Reapers, it also exists in case the Central 46 wants to see a Thirteen Court Guard Squad Captain assassinated.
Recent political complications in recent centuries led the Shihoin Family to merge Onmitsukido and Squad 2. Thus, the Head of the Shihoin Family was often Captain of both organizations, leading to a greater tie with the Seireitei than the Kido Corps, and a more intimate partnership. Sometimes, the Shihoin Head would even have authority to be Captain of Squad 2 while appointing a different Shihoin member as Captain of Onmitsukido.
This level of power was never a major complication until the failed Shihoin revolt which led to a massive decline in the family's power. At that time, the Kawada family took over the Onmitsukido organization. Prior to the Kawada decline, and under Kenryoku Kawada, the Onmitsukido received many heavy changes in infrastructure, a vastly more efficient training regimen, and a huge increase in funding. Though negotiations by Sozen Kuchiki after the decline of Kawada power ultimately put the Onmitsukido back into the hands of the Shihoin and also convinced Central 46 to separate Onmitsukido from Squad 2 once more, many members feel that the division's glory days were under Kawada rule, and thus Kawada loyalties are very high in this squad. There are many who would actively try and restore the Kawadas, and many more who hope for such a thing.
As a separate organization once more, the Onmitsukido still works more closely with Seireitei than the Central 46 desires because of the role Sozen Kuchiki played in its new organizational status.
The Gotei 13 serves as a military force with its primary responsibilities consisting of:
The defense of the Seireitei, the center of Soul Society.
The deployment of Division members into enemy territory for combat operations.
The deployment of Task Forces as defensive measures in the Human World.
The guiding of souls to Soul Society.
General Operation
The Gotei 13 does not normally operate as a cohesive unit. The command of the divisions are generally left to the discretion of its particular Captain, who commonly runs it whatever way he or she sees fit, allowing for the change of a division's traditional duties to an entirely new set and even the creation of a separate institution connected to the division. The Gotei 13's main duty is to defend the Seireitei, but they are allocated districts in Rukongai to defend. In addition to these duties, Shinigami have to deal with the business of being assigned to the Human World.
The only general authority to call forth a combined front is an edict from the Central 46 Chambers, or more often the Captain-Commander. It is not uncommon for captains to not see each other as a whole group for long periods of time, except for cases involving a threat to all of Soul Society, a captain's punishment, or, to a lesser degree, a captain's promotion. On a regular basis, the captains are spread out all across Soul Society doing their divisions' duties, whatever they may be. They are so far spread out, getting the captains together as a group, or even getting their lieutenants together as a group, could normally take as much as two days to accomplish.
Below, you will find descriptions of the 13 squads and their duties, followed by descriptions of the two other organizations joined by academy graduates: the Kido Corps and the Onmitsukido.
{Squad 1 - Command and Operations}
Founded by Kinwashi Ginkurohyou, Squad 1 is the strategic and command squad. The only authority superior to Squad 1's orders is the Central 46. The Captain of this division, called the Captain Commander, is the central and highest authority of the entire organization. Thus, this division's typical duties involve assignments for which Soul Reapers are sent to which parts of the human world, assignments for various squads and Captains, and the primary strategy of the entire Thirteen Court Guard Squads during periods of war. The codes for activating the weapon known as the Soul Cannon are housed here. This is also the only squad with the authority to use the Sokkyokku.
It holds such tremendous authority that even its Lieutenant, depending on circumstances, sometimes has the capacity to issue orders to a Captain. The typical Squad 1 Lieutenant would in fact be about as powerful as a lower tier Captain.
The current Captain Commander is the 35th to ever hold the title, a man named Kyousou Ningen. He is nicknamed "The Strong Man." He is considered to be the strongest Soul Reaper alive, and the sixth strongest ever to live as well as the third strongest to ever take the role of Captain Commander.
{Squad 2 - Special Operations & Infantry}
Founded by Donoken Pipiri, Squad 2 is the division for special operations and infantry. It carries out covert, time sensitive rescue missions, stealthy infiltration and information gathering missions, and sometimes assassinations. Its authority to carry out missions is dictated by its Captain, though it only ever receives orders to assassinate from the Captain Commander himself, and exclusively for missions relative to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and the safety, security, and justice of Soul Society. It was once tied to Onmitsukido, but is now an entirely independent group. For several generations now, the Captain of Squad 2 has been associated with also being the Head of the Shihoin Family, but this is in fact not recently the case.
Along with Squads 6 and 10, this division has partial authority for defending against wartime invasions.
The current Captain of Squad 2 is Kimiko Shihoin, the head of the Shihoin Family with a Zanpakutō themed around wolves.
{Squad 3 - Expedition Squad}
Founded by Shioki Mikoto, Squad 3 is formerly the Destruction Squad. It was once in charge of high level demolitions, particularly when the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were first attempting to clear land to build both Seireitei and Rukongai. Nowadays, it is the Expedition squad. Its goal is to be the first to go out and examine new situations and danger. A majority of first responders to new Hollow reports in the human world come from this division. The members of this division, because they are those that are sent in first, tend to be the best survivalists when it comes to harsh conditions or unpleasantly long missions. They are, however, also considered the most expendable. This division thus possesses the highest level recruiting efforts and contains the most nonseated members.
In our forum's history, this one has become known as "The Cursed Squad." Three recent Captains have been lost to very unfortunate circumstances. The first, Sekaitsu Raito, was forced to flee Soul Society because of Hollowfication. The second, Hara Lucious, was executed as a result of showing signs of Hollowfication. The most recent one to leave because of such circumstances was Ketsueki Nami, who was a cannibalistic criminal guilty of killing fellow Shinigami, and thus was also executed. One recent Captain, Ryuu Usagi, is now a member of the Central 46.
The current Captain is Tsuyoshi Minamoto, a brutish warrior that relies on high level stat ability rather than a Zanpakuto.
{Squad 4 - Medical Corps}
Founded by Kusuri Onna, Squad 4 is the healer's division. Many Soul Reapers who were incompetent as combatants came to this squad to become useful. As such, despite being likely the most integral squad of them all, it has the worst reputation and is looked down on the most. Its members are often bullied by Soul Reapers from Squads 3 and 11. However, in recent years, the Captain Commander has ordered that members of Squad 4 be trained in self defense and in more aggressive offensive strategies in hopes that they would become better able to guard themselves in a battlefield. His desire was that rather than having them act solely as an ER, they can also be field medics and rescuers, as well as evacuation personnel.
Squad 4 does not currently possess an active Captain.
{Squad 5 - Kido Development}
Founded by Shiroi Kochou, this was once the infiltration division before Squad 2 took on that duty. This squad is now in fact responsible for the development and implementation of new Kido and spell-based technologies. It is also a secondary back-up which is sent first to assist Squad 3 members in the field. State of the art Kido spells and experiments are performed here, and thus this division receives the highest proportion of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad budget out of any division.
This squad is known to have produced many famous Captains, including the late Vizard Leader and revolutionary, Zouma Santeku, who was one of the most important NPC plot figures. Also noteworthy, Azeru Cho (AU version of Aizen). The current Captain is Wycliff Mason, a Shinigami with a powerful control over the cold.
{Squad 6 - Internal Affairs, Interrogation Restoration and Repair}
{Former Duties}
Founded by Tsuyoi Kuchiki, Squad 6 is the division that goes to great lengths to store the information gathered by all the other squads. It is in charge of all political affairs, maintaining the history of Soul Society, and keeping a record of all data and information that has been gathered over the thirty three thousand years of this organization. Thus, it also keeps all mission files all the way back to the beginning. Anyone that wants information would come here.
Furthermore, the battle capabilities here are elite, as this squad is led by the most powerful of the houses, the famous Kuchiki Clan. Because this Squad has been exclusively Kuchiki dominated for its entire existence, it also receives the least amount of funding from the annual budget, instead having 2/3 of its spending covered by private funding and political donors from outside.
They are also the ones that imprison captured enemies, and interrogate them in painful and unorthodox manners to get them to spill information. This squad has records of every event in all of Soul Society, historical knowledge dating back to the third Captain Commander. No knowledge of the first and second is stored here, however. Knowledge of the first two captain commanders is stored in squad 1, not squad 6.
Because of the nature of this squad, it is the most difficult to score into out of the academy, and is the most elitist. Only the very best students, graduates, and Soul Reapers end up here. It has the most difficult combat requirement, grade requirement, intelligence test requirement, and it still has other prerequisites. For instance, because of the nature of its operations, much of what is does is classified even to Squad 1, and it only accepts members with the highest level of secrecy. The Captain Commander himself has given Squad 6 permission to conduct its own affairs sometimes separate from the scrutiny of the law, and as such anyone that even minorly breaches the conduct of information handling is executed promptly.
Along with Squads 2 and 10, this division has partial responsibility for mobilizing against wartime invasions.
Founded by Tsuyoi Kuchiki, Squad 6 is the division that goes to great lengths to store the information gathered by all the other squads. It is in charge of all political affairs, maintaining the history of Soul Society, and keeping a record of all data and information that has been gathered over the thirty three thousand years of this organization. Thus, it also keeps all mission files all the way back to the beginning. Anyone that wants information would come here.
Furthermore, the battle capabilities here are elite, as this squad is led by the most powerful of the houses, the famous Kuchiki Clan. Because this Squad has been exclusively Kuchiki dominated for its entire existence, it also receives the least amount of funding from the annual budget, instead having 2/3 of its spending covered by private funding and political donors from outside.
They are also the ones that imprison captured enemies, and interrogate them in painful and unorthodox manners to get them to spill information. This squad has records of every event in all of Soul Society, historical knowledge dating back to the third Captain Commander. No knowledge of the first and second is stored here, however. Knowledge of the first two captain commanders is stored in squad 1, not squad 6.
Because of the nature of this squad, it is the most difficult to score into out of the academy, and is the most elitist. Only the very best students, graduates, and Soul Reapers end up here. It has the most difficult combat requirement, grade requirement, intelligence test requirement, and it still has other prerequisites. For instance, because of the nature of its operations, much of what is does is classified even to Squad 1, and it only accepts members with the highest level of secrecy. The Captain Commander himself has given Squad 6 permission to conduct its own affairs sometimes separate from the scrutiny of the law, and as such anyone that even minorly breaches the conduct of information handling is executed promptly.
Along with Squads 2 and 10, this division has partial responsibility for mobilizing against wartime invasions.
Squad 6 has undergone a reinvigoration. Leaving the Internal Affairs to Squad 7, the 30th Captain of the Squad, Kyomei Kuchiki, requested and was granted permission to change the duties of the squad. Now, the Sixth Squad is in charge of Restoration and Repair. They are the teams that go out and maintain the Seireitei, the Rukongai, and even the Land of the Living. It is this Squad in charge of going in and performing the mind wipes of common humans and repairing buildings after the fact once the Hollow or whatnot that caused the damage is neutralized. This Squad also contain the majority of the Smiths of the Seireitei, responsible for crafting basic equipment for the rest of the Gotei 13. This is not stepping on the toes of the Research division of Squad 12 as they aren't responsible for the development of technology and the like, just responsible for the base crafting that the rest of the Squads may have need of.
The current Captain of this Squad is Kyomei Kuchiki, 30th Kuchiki Head and 30th to hold this Captaincy. This squad also produced current Squad 12 Captain, Aramis Tezuka.
{Squad 7 - Execution, The Upholders of Law}
Founded by Irie Makimaki, Squad 7 was once a research squad devoted to any number of curiosity projects. From science to art to history to magic, it had knowledge about them all. To this day it maintains many libraries and texts which serve it, relics of times past. What this division is most famous for, however, is not its founder, but its second Captain, Roshu Kensai. Roshu Kensai would later go on to become Satsujun, the second Captain Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. He lives to this day as a criminal and outcast exiled to the human world, a Fullbringer that leads an organization called Xcution.
Nowadays, Squad 7 has a different role. These are the Soul Society's policing force. Call them the cops, the FBI, whatever. They send the lowest number of members to the human world to engage with Hollows and they have the least to do with wars. Squad 7 is about internal problems. Rukongai is filled with corruption and criminals. Sometimes there is even corruption within the Thirteen Court Guard squads themselves. To this end, Squad 7 exists as an executive authority dedicated to hunting these things down. Many Captains have been executed or imprisoned as a result of their corruptions being found by Squad 7.
For a time in recent memory, this was considered the most powerful Squad. It was the only division possessing so many users of Bankai. Third seat Kaen Youji (now the Lieutenant) was a Bankai user, as was then Lieutenant Rin Minamimoto. Furthermore, it had all of its seated positions filled. Its Captain of the time, Enma, had a power which allowed him to forcefully activate the Bankai of all of his Squad 7 allies and take on the drawbacks of such a thing in their stead. At this time, Enma was the strongest Captain.
Squad 7 does not currently possess an active Captain. Kaen Youji, however, serves as the Squad's Vice Captain with an exceptionally powerful fire-based release.
{Squad 8 - Funding Organization}
Founded by Ousama Zansatsu, this was originally the Senkaimon operation squad. Nowadays, it is the funding squad. It is Squad 8's job to both secure funds for the entire Thirteen Court Guard Squads and then allocate them. Thus, it is directly in charge of budgeting. Because of the political nature of acquiring funds, Squad 8 often has to work hand in hand with Squad 6. Though it receives regular income due to taxes levied by the Central 46, the funds are often insufficient for the operations of such a massive military group. This is why Squad 8 must work overtime to produce more funds. After years of practice, however, these guys are so good at their job that Seireitei's funds seem utterly limitless.
This division's original Captain, Ousama Zansatsu, went on to become a traitor to Soul Society and is the founder of the Quincy race. He would live to the present day and become the Emperor of the Quincy organization called the Vandenreich. A monster that could use both a Zanpakuto and a Bow Release. However, he met his death at the hands of the 35th Captain Commander. It is knowledge to a select few that his goal was to create a threat that would push the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to evolve and become more powerful in preparation for greater threats.
The current Captain is a well-known Shinigami by the name of Senshi Odayakama, whose Zanpakuto relies on an overwhelming amount of controllable blades.
{Squad 9 - Information Dissecting Squad}
Founded by Ko Tatsujin, this division was once the primary Hollow slaying squad and served mostly what Squad 3's present day role is. Nowadays it is a squad devoted to dissection of complex information which might then be sent to Squad 6. It deals in the use of Hell butterflies for communication and also in decoding ciphers and other things. Oftentimes it is attempting to hack communications from other factions.
This squad is now run by Connor Greaves, a Shinigami with a poison-focused ability.
{Squad 10 - Primary Defense Squad}
Founded by Ibuki Nishoko, Squad 10 was once about Zanpakuto evolution and ways to expand and further develop the primary Soul Reaper weapon, the Zanpakuto. Nowadays, this is the squad with the second best direct combat abilities for average situations. They're the ones in charge of protecting Seireitei itself from enemy invasions. It's almost impossible to get through the battle hardened members of squad 10, since they're the ones that defend Seireitei all the time. Hollows can never infiltrate it ordinarily because of this.
This is probably one of the most famous Squads. Former Captain Okusa Shogen, once the strongest Captain prior to the arrival of Enma, led this squad to a glory time equal to that of Squad 7. It wielded a Lieutenant named Hiro Kaname who had Bankai and a third seat named Irudai Izumi who also had Bankai. This division was famous for power, combat lovers, and partying.
Nowadays it is a much more calm and disciplined squad, albeit a weaker one compared to the glory days. The Squad's current Captain, Celes Shindazu, a Shinigami with the ability to project her spirit outward in the name of defense.
{Squad 11 - Primary Attack Squad}
Founded by Kenpachi Guren, Squad 11 has always been the main combat squad. The majority of Captains of this Squad have held the legendary title of "Kenpachi." It is known that this division sends the best reinforcements to the human world. If reinforcements are to come and save the day against Hollows, often they come from this squad. This is the main attack squad. This means that not only will this be the squad with the best reinforcements for facing Hollows, but it is the one with the heaviest reinforcements and duties for going to war with other factions. Squad 11 thus has the highest number of total members in spite of Squad 3's recruiting efforts. Unlike other squads which have 20 seated positions (IC), Squad 11 has over a hundred.
The current Captain of this Squad is Kimiko Nakajima, a Shinigami with control over both light and dark.
{Squad 12 - Research and Development Squad, Technological Bureau}
Founded by Akuma Joshai, Squad 12 was once an enforcement squad. A predecessor of Squad 7's modern day duties. Its goal was to enforce the law within Soul Society. Today, however, Squad 12 is about technology, research, and science. Squad 12 is also very difficult to score into, requiring members that are exceptionally knowledgeable about human world science, the science of the spiritual worlds, and technology in general. Most who want to apply here generally need to submit some sort of scientific thesis which is then graded by a board within the division itself. Acceptable thesis papers lead to members joining the squad. The people here spend their days cooped up in a lab with all sorts of new experimental poisons, dissections, chemicals, creatures, and a whole host of other projects. They're actually the most knowledgeable and scientifically smartest people in all of Soul Society.
They are known to be low level combatants most of the time, but the technologies that they produce more than make up for it.
In the modern era, this division started developing more and more unorthodox and sometimes illegal experiments under former Captain, Bokuga Sayuri. The current Captain is Aramis Tezuka, a man who is shrouded in mystery and hides his powers from the world. It is said no one has ever seen him use Bankai.
{Squad 13 - Travel Operations}
Founded by Asa Luryuuak, Squad 13 once served the most sinister purpose of them all: Genocide. Formerly a division dedicated solely to the genocide of undesirables and undesirable races, this division once served a purpose that is now thought of to be archaic and absolutely barbaric. Despite the fact that today the Thirteen Court Guard Squads still enforce certain genocidal policies (against Quincy, Bount, and Mod Souls for instance), this division also produced genocide in Rukongai for "inferior" pluses.
It was not until the eighth Captain Commander that this practice was eliminated. Today, this division is about travels and overseeing operation of the Senkaimon gate that Soul Reapers use to travel to and from the human world. These guys are also occasionally sent into hot spots to get fellow Soul Reapers out of there or when someone else needs to be sent in.
When the Kawada family nobility first took a Captaincy seat, this was the division that they took over. It has since then been semi frequently used as the traditional Kawada squad, though in recent years this has not been the case as a result of a major decline in that family's power.
As a result of an attack from a mysterious assailant named "Douma" which reportedly led to the death of Captain Kagami Murai, this division no longer has a Captain. In fact, at the time, it lost a huge majority of its members. After some time, it has regenerated its numbers by pulling from the academy, but many of them are now novices and newbies. There is great speculation that because of the savagery of the attack against Squad 13, Douma is actually a former Soul Reaper of this division.
Squad 13 currently possesses no active Captain.
{Kido Corps}
These people are not developers of Kido, but rather are specialists in its use. Furthermore, while those in the Kido Corps are Soul Reapers, they are not technically members of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and thus their division in fact does not answer to the Captain Commander. This is in fact its own entirely separate militia organization. They were founded by the Central 46, and are thus under the control of the Central 46. Their primary purpose is to assist the Thirteen Court Guard Squads when they can, but also to protect the Central 46 and enforce its laws and will.
In particular, it is around to keep the Thirteen Court Guard Squads in check. Because it is under command of Central 46, this organization is often at odds with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads because of conflicting roles and orders from the Captain Commander versus the Central 46. Should the Central 46 feel it necessary, the Kido Corps is around to actually invade and take conquest over the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. As a result, the Kido Corps does not technically operate within the Seireitei, even though Central 46 HQ is located in Seireitei. The Kido Corps actually has its own outpost in Rukongai for operations. Its Captain, despite leading the group, wields significantly less power over the Kido Corps as opposed to the Captain Commander for the Seireitei. The Kido Corps receives nearly all of its direct orders from the Central 46.
In fact, the Captain of this division is almost never invited to Captain meetings of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. If the Captain does attend, it is because Central 46 ordered them to do so. The current Captain is Kyomei Kuchiki, a powerful Captain whose reiatsu is so mighty that it suppressed his ability to achieve a Zanpakuto. He is particularly adept at a skill called "Kido Fusion" which is exceptionally rare.
Unlike most Captains of the Kido Corps, Kyomei actually fosters a significantly better relationship with the Seireitei and its Captains, and works closely with many of them. This can be partially attributed to his familial relationship with Squad 6's Captain requiring him to be in close proximity of Seireitei rather regularly. As a result of his ability to make ties, his power, and his agreeableness, he is thought to be in the process of grooming to actually leave the Kido Corps and assume the role of Captain Commander when the Strong Man retires or dies.
{Onmitsukido}
The Onmitsukido was founded by the Shihoin Family as an assassin organization loyal exclusively to them. It was the Onmitsukido's role of being hired by nobles in secret to play games of espionage and calculation that led to the Shihoin becoming as influential as they are. Despite this, the Onmitsukido was eventually discovered and placed under jurisdiction of the Central 46. Though supervised by the noble Shihoin family, and allowed some degree of autonomy compared to the Kido Corps, Onmitsukido does still answer primarily to Central 46. Like the Kido Corps, it is a separate organization that only works with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Its Captain is rarely invited to Captain meetings, though sometimes is encouraged to silently sit in on them by Central 46. Ultimately, though this is an espionage division that takes on more complex and illegal assassination missions compared to Squad 2, and is meant to assist other Soul Reapers, it also exists in case the Central 46 wants to see a Thirteen Court Guard Squad Captain assassinated.
Recent political complications in recent centuries led the Shihoin Family to merge Onmitsukido and Squad 2. Thus, the Head of the Shihoin Family was often Captain of both organizations, leading to a greater tie with the Seireitei than the Kido Corps, and a more intimate partnership. Sometimes, the Shihoin Head would even have authority to be Captain of Squad 2 while appointing a different Shihoin member as Captain of Onmitsukido.
This level of power was never a major complication until the failed Shihoin revolt which led to a massive decline in the family's power. At that time, the Kawada family took over the Onmitsukido organization. Prior to the Kawada decline, and under Kenryoku Kawada, the Onmitsukido received many heavy changes in infrastructure, a vastly more efficient training regimen, and a huge increase in funding. Though negotiations by Sozen Kuchiki after the decline of Kawada power ultimately put the Onmitsukido back into the hands of the Shihoin and also convinced Central 46 to separate Onmitsukido from Squad 2 once more, many members feel that the division's glory days were under Kawada rule, and thus Kawada loyalties are very high in this squad. There are many who would actively try and restore the Kawadas, and many more who hope for such a thing.
As a separate organization once more, the Onmitsukido still works more closely with Seireitei than the Central 46 desires because of the role Sozen Kuchiki played in its new organizational status.